Only From Afar
by rineren
Summary: Over and over again, Haruka was told to stay away from humans. His immortal existence was suppose to remain a secret forever and he was warned to never let himself get seen. However, the life he once knew changes when he starts interacting with a green eyed child. Mermaid Au.
1. Chapter 1

**Free! Iwatobi Swim Club**

_This is my second attempt at a Free! and I hope this time I'm to keep up with it. I have everything pretty much plotted out in my head, but I have trouble keeping up with multi chapter stories. Still, I wanted to give this AU a try, so thank you for checking this out and please excuse my grammatical errors. Most chapters will be around the same size as this one, but I hope it meets your expectations!_

_Disclaimer: Nothing is mine obviously._

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**Only From Afar**

**Chapter 1**

He stared at the small human as he ran and played around in the water. He was alone like always, but he seemed happy. His smile was bright and his laughter was loud. He kept splashing in the water repeatedly with his feet while the waves tickled his ankles. He spun around in circles and expanded his arms out wide. Then, he stood motionless, lifted his thin face and embraced the sun's radiant warmth. He smiled to himself before he ran the opposite direction.

Haruka swam a bit closer and hid behind the nearby rocks. The small human still hadn't seen him even though he had been watching him for a long while. Tilting his head, Haruka wished he could get closer, but he couldn't get risked getting seen by other humans. From what he was told by others, humans in general were dangerous and they simply couldn't be trusted. However, the small human he had been observing seemed different. Aside from being smaller, he seemed fragile, gentle and almost harmless. That was the reason why his curiosity had been ignited. He almost wanted to go up to him and carry him.

The young human sat down in the sand and started piling it up. Then, he slowly began to give it shape. His small hands molded the sand into a square looking figure. It was definitely interesting to watch and Haruka wanted to know what the small human was planning to create, but for some reason the tiny person seemed discontent. He started looking around as he shook some sand off his clothing. A smile formed on his face when he spotted a green pail laying on the beach. He quickly ran toward it, picked it up and headed back toward the ocean. In response, Haruka lowered his head a bit more under the water and continued to watch the small human.

Just when Haruka decided to swim closer, he felt a rough strong hand on his shoulder. That same hand pulled him back into the water, deep enough to where he could no longer see his small favorite human or feel the sun's heat. Annoyed, Haruka shoved the hand away to find Rin right in front him. He looked angry, but that wasn't really surprising. Haruka stared at him silently and waited for him to say something. He wasn't entirely sure how he had found him when he had been extra careful to slip away from the others.

"What are you thinking?" Rin began as he crossed his hands. "You were spying on the humans again weren't you? Geez, Haru, how many times do I have to tell you? You can't go up to the surface like that. If you get spotted, you're going to get into some deep shit and I'm not going to go after you. I won't be the one that saves you!"

It was clear that Rin was only worried about him, but Haruka had heard those same words too many times already. He quickly became uninterested and turned to look up at the surface instead. He loved the water so much and there was nothing in the world that could ever erase the beautiful sensation the water could give him. His home, the ocean, meant everything and without it, he would be in complete despair.

However, there were other things he wanted to know and explore. There were other places that he sometimes felt like seeing. There were other creatures like the small human he just wanted to interact with. It was a feeling that only he had and understood. He tried talking about it to Rin once and the only thing he got was a scolding. It was true that the water gave him life, but the small human with light brown hair and beautiful green eyes had captured his complete attention. He would always see him there after all and it was only natural for him to be attracted to such a pleasant little creature. With a long silent sigh, Haruka turned to Rin again to see him fuming with anger.

"Are you listening to me, Haru?" Rin exclaimed, getting a bit closer to him. Even so, Haruka's glum expression didn't change. He just remained there in a complete daze, pretending he was actually concerned about Rin's yapping. "You're still watching that one human, huh? The one I saw you staring at last time? I can't believe you sometimes. You're completely insane. If you're ever seen, those stupid humans aren't going to stop until they catch you. Then, they're going to take you away and open you up for experiments ir whatever! That's what you're going to get if you keep going up there, you know."

"I'm careful." Haruka managed to say as he looked at his sparkling blue tail fin. Their interest would probably be the same. His curiosity toward humans would probably be the same, if not more, with a human toward him. However, he would never slice up one. They didn't seem worth it and they didn't look appetizing enough to even eat. Then again, everything Rin said about humans were nothing but rumors. "That small human, he's different."

Rin scratched the back of his head before he let out a sigh of his own. He looked at him with a hopeless expression and calmly placed his rough hand on his shoulder again. For some reason, he seemed to like envading his personal space. "Listen, Haru, that human's different because it's another human offspring. It's still growing and it's slowly going to get corrupted by that outside world. It might be harmless now, but when it becomes an adult human, it's going to be like everything else out there. Don't get involved with it."

While it seemed like warning, Haruka didn't see it that way. Still, he accepted Rin's advice with a nod and watched as his friend slowly relaxed. He gave him a pat in the back before he swam deeper into the ocean's depth. "Alright. Let's go before that stupid Mikoshiba makes a move on my sister again. He always takes advantage when I'm not around. That guy never learns. He's doesn't get that he's not good enough for her."

"You're just a stubborn brother." Haruka commented even though he also forgot to say overprotective and jealous. It was hard to put up with Rin sometimes, but they had been together for so long that he was already used to his way of being.

Haruka watched patiently while Rin swam on ahead before he said, "Umm, you go on ahead."

"Huh? Where are you going to go?" Rin asked, lifting an eyebrow at his remark as he turned his body around. Haruka wasn't really the type to give explanations, so he stayed quiet for a moment. His silence was enough to make Rin suspicious, so he simply told him that he was going to go catch something to eat. Of course, Rin didn't believe him and Haruka could see him getting pissed off again. "Oh, fine. Whatever. Get eaten or get caught. I don't care anymore. I'm done with you."

Haruka said nothing amd waited for Rin to swim away from him. While he said he didn't care, he knew that Rin would always be there for him. If he called for him, he knew Rin come swimming right back. After all, Rin knew him better than anyone. Up until that day, he was the only one that knew that he was secretly going up to shore. He was the only one that knew about his interest in that small human. There were just so many things that kept their friendship strong, a friendship that already had decades of history.

When he finally peeked his head out of the water again, Haruka was disappointed to find his favorite human gone.

...


	2. Chapter 2

**Free! Iwatobi Swim Club**

**Only From Afar**

**Chapter 2**

Makoto wasn't sleepy at all. In fact, he felt more jumpy and excited than ever. After playing in the beach all day, his mother had made him his favorite dinner and bought him a new book he wanted for a very long time. Overall, he had had a very pleasant day and it was definitely one of the best days a small five year old could have. Turning and tossing in his bed, Makoto opened his eyes again and looked at his dark room. He didn't know what time it was, but he just wasn't tired. He still had energy to play.

Not wanting to make too much noise, Makoto got out of bed and walked toward the window. He looked outside and stared at the beautiful ocean in front of him. Even though something so big and mysterious scared him, he still loved playing on the beach. He loved feeling the sand in between his toes and fresh breeze hit his face. As Makoto looked outside, he leaned his head on his hands and let out a dreamy sigh. He couldn't wait until tomorrow because he knew he would go out to the beach again. Since it was already late summer, the weather started getting cooler and was much more enjoyable.

With a smile, Makoto stepped away from the window and went toward his bookshelf. He looked through his small collection of books. Then, he picked out his favorite one and went back to his bed. He snuggled under bedsheets after he had turned on his lamp. He opened his book and ignoring the long complicated words, Makoto looked at the beautiful pictures of the mystical creatures he hoped lived in the ocean. However, his favorite portion of the book showed beautiful drawings and paintings about mermaids. Leaning closer toward the book, Makoto slowly traced over one of the mermaid's tail fin with his finger. They looked very alluring and small little Makoto couldn't help but be wondered by them.

He rested his head on his pillow before he looked up at the ceiling. He didn't know if mermaids were real or not, but he had heard many stories about them from his grandfather. He told him amazing tales of how he had seen them when he was only a young fisherman. Of course, his mother would say he was lying right after and Makoto didn't know if he should trust his grandfather or not. Still, he wanted to believe. He wanted mermaids to be real because he wanted to meet one. He wanted ask them what it was like to live in the ocean. He wanted to ask if it was fun or scary. He wanted to touch their tail fins. Makoto kept flipping through the pages of his favorite book and when he finally reached the end, his bedroom door creaked open. Afraid, he quickly hid under his bedsheets.

"Makoto, dear, what are you still doing awake?" When Makoto heard his mother's voice, he came out from under the blankets with a bit of embarrassment. Then, he quickly showed her the book he had been looking through. His mother smiled sweetly him, making him feeling a bit less guilty for still being up. She walked toward him, turned off the lamp and gave a good night kiss in the head. "I know you like this book very much, but now isn't the time to read. Besides, don't we always read this book together?"

"Yes," Makoto stated, watching as his mother took the book away from his hands. "But I really like it. Mama, do you think they're real? The mermaids?"

"Hmm, well, I've never seen one so I can't really say." His mother placed her hand over her chin and pretended to be pondering about the issue. Meanwhile, Makoto watched her with fascination and waited for another response. After a couple of seconds, she smiled again and started tucking him back into bed. This time, though, small Makoto started to feel a bit more sleepy. "Your grandfather's stories did sound quite vivid, but I'm afraid they're just stories. We can't say for sure that they're real or not."

"I want to see one." Makoto told his mother, rubbing his eyes and grabbing his stuffed dolphin. He hugged it tightly before his mother gave him another good night's kiss on the forehead. Makoto smiled at her and he was glad that he hadn't gotten in trouble for staying up so late. Still, his eyes wandered back to his book on the shelf. "I want a mermaid as a friend."

His mother ruffled his hair, but she didn't say anything anymore. As Makoto began to slowly close his eyes, his mother walked out the room and quietly closed the door. The room once again fell silent and the only thing little Makoto could hear were the distant sounds of the waves crashing against the shore. He wanted to get up and see again, but his body suddenly felt tired and heavy. He yawned and slowly let his eyelids close.

In his mind. he began to visualize what it would be like to meet an actual mermaid.

...

_(A/N: I know this one is shorter than the previous chapter, but it was suppose to be part of chapter 1 originally. Anyways, thanks for reading!)_


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